Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 17:39 Jeff Lehman
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Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 17:18 Jeff Lehman It all started with a bum shoulder. Ironically the shoulder was injured during a grueling litter carry in January when a hiker fell and injured his ankle above the Sierra Hut on Baldy. My injured shoulder, and the voice of my physical therapist telling me to lay off carrying a pack for a while, kept me out of the field on Saturday and in the command post. My compatriots in West Valley SAR are excellent search managers, so I don't mind command post duty with them, but I do prefer to be in the field. If you've ever worked in the command post, and I mean work, not just sitting around drinking coffee and jawing about whatever, then you know that the work load is completely out of phase with work in the field. The operational period begins with a frantic assembly of team assignments and filling out the appropriate paperwork all while coordinating team transportation with the intent of getting people in the field quickly. For those going into the field, the wait can be maddening, but it does provide a bit of time to sort gear and prepare for the assignment at hand.
West Valley SAR, search in Missions Thursday, February 12, 2009 at 16:59 Jeff Lehman Four teams from West Valley SAR and Sierra Madre SAR searched through the night for a missing skier on Mt. Baldy. Early this morning, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Aviation found the missing person on the summit of Mt. Baldy. The missing person suffered from frostbite, but was otherwise healthy.
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West Valley SAR, search in Missions Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 17:00 Jeff Lehman The Cave & Technical Rescue Team got the call to assist West Valley SAR at approximately 2100 hrs on Sunday, January 4. There was an injured hiker at the Sierra Hut that needed to be evacuated via litter carry. My teammates arrived on scene to find one team with the hiker, and one team heading up the trail. With members of San Bernardino Mountain SAR, Wrightwood, and Valley of the Falls SAR our team of 7 made our way up the hut trail to meet the crew beginning their descent with the patient, Steven Yang of Temple City, CA.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 17:00 Jeff Lehman Just as we were finishing dinner on Christmas Day, I received a call to assist West Valley SAR in a search for an overdue hiker on Mt. Baldy. Upon arriving at the command post I was assigned to hike the "Hut Trail" to see if our missing hiker was waiting out the storm in the hut. Fortunately the stormy weather broke before my team of 4 entered the field.
Sunday, November 2, 2008 at 19:43 Jeff Lehman Mr. Hagner was reported missing by his wife on Saturday evening. Mrs. Hagner had a general idea of where he was headed, and mentioned that he was active in a hiking club that he found online. Mr. Hagner's car was located at the Ice House Canyon trailhead, and West Valley SAR began the search.
From Hagner Search
Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 19:28 Jeff Lehman Bill Koelpfer did not return as planned, so while a wildland fire approached Chino Hills, West Valley SAR was called to search for the missing man on November 15. After several hours of searching additional resources were summoned and the search continued into the morning of November 16. Around 10am a 911 call was received from a hiker in the area reporting that she had heard somebody yelling for help near her location on the Icehouse Canyon Trail. A nearby team was redirected to this location and made contact with Mr. Koelpfer confirming that he was the one shouting and was the missing hiker. The hiker suffered no major injuries and was hoisted from his location around 11:30am by Sheriff's Aviation and flown to Cow Canyon Saddle where he was evaluated by paramedics standing by and returned to the command post for a debriefing.
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| From Koelpfer Search |
Around 1300 hours Team 11, who was returning from the field, happened upon a woman hiking near Icehouse Saddle hobbling along on an injured ankle. After a short discussion it was determined that she would require evacuation as well. After a bit of load-lightening, the airship was able to hoist Ms. Martin and return her to Cow Canyon Saddle for evaluation by another set of waiting paramedics. The irony of this situation is that Ms. Martin was the hiker who made the 911 call to report Mr. Koelpfer's yelling for help.
In addition to West Valley SAR, thanks to San Bernardino Mountain (Central) SAR, Rim SAR, West Valley Posse, and the Cave Rescue Team for another successful search and rescue mission.
Thursday, October 9, 2008 at 17:00 Jeff Lehman My team was called to assist with the recovery effort at the scene of the Fossett aircraft crash. Our job was to grid search the area looking for remains. Also onsite was the NTSB who were investigating the reasons for the crash.
When the call came we were told that personal effects of Mr. Fossett were found, and that we were to look for the crash site. On our way to the command post at Mammoth Airport...
The Recovery of S. Fossett from SBSAR on Vimeo.
Monday, October 6, 2008 at 20:47 Jeff Lehman DATE/TIME: September 22, 2008, 9:00 a.m.
Initial Press Release: June 8, 2001, 7:30 p.m.,
INCIDENT: Overdue Aircraft/Search for Missing
Person
LOCATION: San Bernardino Mountains/Middle Fork, Lytle Creek
VICTIM (S): Daniel Katz, age 24 years a resident of Mexico City
INVOLVED PARTIES IN ORIGINAL SEARCH EFFORTS: Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Civil Air Patrol, Riverside Sheriff's Department, San Bernardino Sheriff's Department Aviation and Volunteer Forces Unit
SUMMARY: On June 8, 2001, The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department was contacted by the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) to assist in the search of a possible downed aircraft in the Lytle Creek area of Fontana. A Search Management Team from the Sheriff's Volunteer Forces Division was sent to the scene to operate the search efforts.
Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 20:49 Jeff Lehman Yeserday Mark Kinsey and I were inserted at Red Ridge near the summit of Mt. San Gorgonio. Our assignment was to search the Vivian Creek Trail from that point to the bottom. Our missing person suffers from a seizure disorder, and as such, when he recovers from one of these events, he does not remember the events just prior. This meant that our searching required us to search off-trail as well.